Irganox 1076 is a hindered phenolic antioxidant commonly added to polyolefins, whose migration from the plastic packaging into the food is regulated by European legislation. The work herein reports on an initial approach to obtain a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for Irganox 1076, a previously nonimprinted target. In a subsequent step, the application of the molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE) to the fatty simulant olive oil is tested to get its determination free of interferences using high-performance liquid chromatography with PDA detector. The influence of five variables, namely porogen, functional monomer, crosslinker, initiator, and initiation method was investigated through the synthesis of miniMIPs. The best results were obtained using methacrylic acid and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate in tetrahydrofuran under UV radiation with 2,2'-azobis-(2-methylpropionitrile). The application of MISPE to olive oil showed the potential of the imprinted polymer to clean up complex matrices. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 119: 2866-2874, 2011